La Résidence

The team behind La Residence has a knack for turning rustic into extraordinary (the group also operates the Royal Malewane bush retreat in Kruger Park)—and it’s done a characteristically fabulous job creating this über-luxurious 11-suite hotel on the site of an old plum orchard. Set just outside the wine-country hamlet of Franschhoek, the property’s modest-looking main villa belies its extravagant inner opulence: a grand main hall houses an epically proportioned Indian chandelier and gargantuan fireplaces, while the individually decorated suites are similarly over-the-top (the Huguenot Room is a fantasia of turquoise silk, with porcelain lamps shaped like cocker spaniels). Relax in the afternoons at the swimming pool overlooking young vineyards, or at the loggia near a pond where black swans congregate. Children must be age 12 or over.

Room to Book: The Maharani Room (1,150 square feet) is an Indiaphile’s delight, with saffron-hued silk cushions, white muslin curtains, and a hand-embroidered bed befitting a maharajah.